Disclaimer: Yeah, right. I am Kevin Williamson. I am a 40 or so year old man. I am also Paul Stupin. I could be busy writing scripts and being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars right now, but I'd rather be writing fan fiction and making no profit. As well as being Paul and Kevin, I am also being sarcastic. So nope, sorry, you can't sue me. Haha! Author's note: Remember when Pacey went to tell Joey about his feelings at the end of #314 - The Valentine's Day Massacre? Well, I loved that scene, and decided to see what could have happened if he had gone through with telling her. I'm not saying that this is what would have happened, it's just meant as something to fill up my (and your) time. There's only one part to this, and it is VERY similar to Crime and Punishment... wanna know why? 'Cos it's meant to be! Just now Joey knows about this... will she react differently to her mural being trashed and everything else that happens now that she knows the truth? Feedback: Yeah, now it's not about what Joey might have done differently, it's about what I should have done differently! Tell me what you loved and what you hated, but don't be too harsh. PLEASE??? Ok, fine. Tell me the truth... but be constructive, not malicious. [email protected]
Pacey walked up towards Joey's house. He had never been so nervous to see her in his entire life - but then again, he had a good reason to be nervous this time. He still found it really hard to believe that he was actually doing this. He knew that her response wouldn't be warm. She would never feel the same way as he did, would she? Ha! Come on, this was Joey Potter he was thinking about. Of course she wouldn't! His conversation with Doug the night before kept replaying itself in his head. He never usually listened to Doug, but this time it was different. This time his advice actually seemed genuine. For the first time ever, Doug actually sounded like he knew what he was on about. He stood outside the door, trying to get his head together. Before he even realized it, he had knocked on the door. Joey opened it, took one look at him, and shut it back in his face. Well... tried. Pacey put his hand out. He was determined to do this. "Hold on, please?" he said. Joey opened the door again. "Look, what I said last night was way out of line. And yes, I was drunk, but more to the point I was just plain wrong. And I want you to know that I'm really sorry." "Well I was worried about you too, Pacey," she replied. He was suprised. He didn't deserve this... at least, he wasn't expecting to deserve this. "Me? Why?" Joey shrugged. "I don't know," she said as she stepped out and closed the door behind her. "Because, I mean, Satan himself could lead Dawson into the firey pits of hell and he would still emerge with his moral code firmly intact. But you... Maybe I think that no one's worrying about you right now." "So then," Pacey cleared his throat. "What you're really saying then, is that given the highly dysfunctional nature of our relationship, this is how you actually express concern for me?" Joey smiled and nodded her head. "You've gotta learn to read between the banter, Pacey." 'Something you haven't been doing too well yourself recently,' he thought to himself. "Right," he said, mentally kicking himself for procrastinating. There was a long, awkward pause while he tried to figure out what to tell her, because despite all his practices and long speeches to the bathroom mirror, he still had no idea. "So. So are we all finished here?" Joey finally asked. "No, actually. There's something else," he told her, determined to do this. "Something else?" she asked. "Yeah," he paused. "It's just something I've been meaning to tell you," he said, resisting the urge to reach out and kiss her. She wasn't actually that far away... it wouldn't be so hard. Yeah, right. In a perfect world... maybe. In a world in which they had best friends and ex's... no. In a world in which he was Pacey Witter and she was Joey Potter... no way. Joey tried her best to read his expression, but she truthfully had no idea what he was trying to say. She'd never seen him like this before. Never. "Uh, look, uh... Joey?" "Yeah?" "I... I mean that... I came around today to..." he couldn't find the right words. "Yeah? Go on Pacey." "No, no, no," he said. "I can't do this." "Do what?" she asked. "I can't say this. I can't tell you about... this thing." "Pacey... come on. You know that you can tell me anything." Pacey flung his arms around in frustration. "Just leave me alone!" he yelled as he started to walk away. Joey ran up behind him, grabbed his hands and swung him around to face her. Suddenly, it occured to her what she was doing. She was holding hands with Pacey Witter, and starring into his eyes. Pacey moved in closer to her. She wasn't pulling away, and nothing was interruping this moment that they were sharing, so there was nothing to make him think, or face the reality of this situation. So much for that. "Wha... What are you doing?" she asked, confused. "Trying my best not to kiss you," he muttered quietly, but obviously not quietly enough. "Pacey... what are you trying to say?" she asked him. "Look, I know that there's about a million perfectly good reasons for you to laugh in my face when I say this... but I can't live keeping this totally to myself. I feel like I'm lying to you by not telling you this... but... well..." "What is it, Pacey. I told you before, you can tell me anything," she said, even though she had some idea where this was going. Pacey sighed. He'd said too much already. There was no turning back now. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've fallen for you. And I've fallen hard," he managed to say, suprising even himself.
(Episode #315: Crime and Punishment. After the re-write to the ending of Valentine's Day Massacre, it was renamed to Crime, Punishment And The Truth - by me.) Joey stood in the hallway of Capeside High, adding the finishing touches to her mural. The events of the morning before kept running through her head. "Pacey... what are you trying to say?" "That I've fallen hopelessly in love with you." Up until she'd grabbed his hands and sharred that... moment with him, it was the last thing she'd expected. At first, she hadn't really believed him, but when she looked back at him, about to make a sarcastic reply, she saw the truth there in his eyes. When she hadn't said - or done - anything, Pacey had just walked away from her without even saying, "See ya, Potter." That's why it was such a suprise for her to turn around and see Pacey there admiring her artwork - or maybe just her. "I don't recall requesting the pleasure of your company, Pacey," she said to him, climbing off the stool she was on. She avoided making any physical contact with him... it was too weird now. But she missed it already. Something was different. Something had changed. And it sucked. Pacey pointed to some materials on a trolley. "Rag?" he asked. "Brush," she replied. They were both clearly trying to forget about the day before, but it wasn't working. Pacey walked slowly over to Joey and held out a handful of small brushes. "You know, after Van Gough chopped off his own ear, there was a rash of copycat multilations above the students," he informed her. She took a brush from him, avoiding touching his hand while she was at it. "Your point being?" she asked, returning to her painting. "My point being that the whole world reveres the artists - envies their talent, wants to be just like them," he casually told her. "So that's what I'm doing here - I'm hoping some of your genius will rub off on me." Joey replied very matter-of-factly, "You got kicked out of your house again." "No... not exactly kicked out. It's more like they're filming a life-time original movie in my living room rigjt now," he said. Joey turned to face him, and he instantly turned away and busied himself with her paintbrush set. He couldn't risk looking into her eyes. "And, uh, which one of the Witter sisters is in complete distress right now?" she asked. "Kerry," Pacey muttered to the paintbrushes. He couldn't look at Joey. Not now, maybe not ever. "I get a room, you lose yours. Seems fair to me," she muttered, looking away from Pacey. "It would," he muttered. He didn't know if he could take this. Even if she didn't want him romantically, he still needed her as a friend. NEEDED. Joey threw her brushes on the ground in sheer frustration. "Ok, Pacey. Just stop it!" she yelled, feed-up with this. "What?" he asked. He knew exactly what she meant, only he wished that he didn't. "Stop acting like you didn't tell me! You did, ok?" she yelled, angrily. Not so much at him, but more at the situation. "You rejected me, Joey! How the hell am I supposed to react?" "I didn't reject you Pacey. I just---" "Didn't accept you either," he finished the sentence for her. Joey sighed. "I was speechless, Pacey. SPEECH-LESS," she said slowly as though he had a hearing problem. "That'd be a first," he muttered. "You're right. Pacey Witter leaving Joey Potter speechless. How ironic, she doesn't have any witty comeback to spit back at you," she said as she picked up her walkman. "Get someone else's genius to rub off on you. I'm done for tonight," she said bluntly as she walked away. "God!" Pacey cursed himself. "Why do I always screw things up?" He stomped away in the oppisote direction.
Dawson slid his fingers under the tape and lent over to take a quick peek at Joey's mural. Joey ran up and put her hand over his. "No peeking!" "What? Don't I get a preview?" Dawson asked. "No," Joey replied. "Why not? Pacey did," Dawson said, oblivious to what had happened between her and Pacey recently. Joey's expression suddenly changed. "What did he tell you?" "He said it was great, but he refused to tell me what it was." "Thank god," Joey breathed out a sigh of relief. She was glad that he knew nothing else. It's not like either her or Pacey had done anything wrong. They hadn't been sneeking around togetehr or anything, but knowing Dawson, he would still see it as betrayal. But Dawson just presumed that she was thankful because he didn't know what the mural was of. "So... do I get to find out?" he asked. "No!" Joey exclaimed. "Oooooooh... Joey. This isn't fair!" Dawson whined. "Life isn't always fair, Dawson. I thought you would've learnt that by now," she said as she patted him on the shoulder and started to walk away. Dawson tried to peek at it again, but Joey knew that he'd try to do this. She swung around. "And no peeking!" she yelled. Dawson hung his head and walked away. She was right - sometimes life wasn't fair. But he had no idea how unfair life was about to become.
"Give me a break, it was just a joke," Matt Caulfield told the Capeside High Disciplinary Commitee, which included Principal Green and a very guilty feeling Andie. "There's nothing funny about cheating, Matt," Andie said, feeling like a total hypocrite. "Principal Green. members of the Disciplinary Commitee, I - I admit it, I didn't know the answer on the quiz, so - so I did what any self-respecting kid would do in a cellular age. You know, I whipped out my Star-Tak, I dialled home, and - and I asked my mom - How many justices sit on the Supreme Court? You know, call me crazy, even Mr Higgins laughed," Matt said. Mr Higgin's looked down at his desk, embarressed. "And you claim that your mother didn't know the answer either?" Andie asked, not believing his story. Matt nodded. "Uh-huh." "Ok," Andie said, tapping her pencil. "So how do you explain your perfect score on the quiz?" "I guessed," he said sternly. "Oh, well, then, I guess my recommendation would be that you get a failing grade on the work at question, and a three hour detention," Andie suggested. "Why don't you just bust my knee caps while you're at it?" Caulfield shot back. "That'll be enough, Mr Caqulfield," Principal Green demanded. "While your behaviour clearly violates the letter of the Honour Code, I do not believe it is in violation of the spirit." "Am I free to go then?" Matt asked. "Yes, you're free to go," Green said. Andie looked down, regretting how she had reacted. Matt got up to leave. "Mr Caulfield?" Principal Green said, and Matt looked back at him. "Let this be the last time we see you before this committee." Matt merely smirked before leaving, followed by his minions.
Andie picked up her bag, glad to be leaving another torturous day as head of the Disciplinary Committee. Principal Green stopped her. "Uh, Andie, could you please stay back for a moment?" "Sure," Andie muttered. Green walked up to her. "Um, Principal Green, I'm really sorry about earlier. I overreacted to the whole---" "No, that's not what this is about. Andie, I have news." "News?" "I was contacted this morning by the Educational Testing Service," Green said. Andie just nodded nervously. "Andie, your phenomenal PSAT results have placed you among the top 50,000 scorers in the country! You, young lady, have just taken one giant step towards a National Merit Scholarship. Isn't that fantastic?" he beamed. "Fantastic," Andie muttered, not overjoyed. "Andie, what's wrong? You seem stunned." "No - no, no, it's just, um... well it's just - yeah, I'm a little stunned." Principal Green laughed and shook her hand. "Congratulations." He patted her on the shoulder twice and left Andie standing alone in the room, terribly guilty and ashamed.
Pacey walked into an apartment building, carrying a suitcase and a container of food. He rang the doorbell, and Doug answered. Pacey smiled. His expression showed that he wanted something. Doug tried to shut the door, but Pacey put his foot out. "No, no, no! Look, Pacey, last time you were here you left water rings on my deco coffee table," Doug argued. "Douggie," Pacey replied. "Mom and Dad just wanted me to bring you something, that's all." "Yeah? What?" Pacey handed over the container of food then pushed past Doug. "Me," he announced. Doug was stunned. "Look, what are you doing?" "I'm moving in, bro," Pacey said matter-of-factly, as though it were something that happened everyday. "Why, excuse me?" "You heard me, I'm moving in. Oh, look, Dad gave me a cheque to give you - it's like a security deposit, incase I break your stereo," Pacey said, handing over a white envelope. Doug shook his head in disbelief. "Nah, you're not going to break my stereo, because you're not touching my stereo, 'cos you're not moving in with me. Not now, not ever. This is not Party Of Five." Pacey started flipping through Doug's CDs. "Come on Douggie, please, you can't make me go back to that house. I mean, think about it. You've got this whole styling bachelor pad all to yourself. With the nice lighting and the fancy window dressings..." he started mumbling quietly "...and all the other trappings of the modern, extremely closeted homosexual male." He began speaking normally again, "And I don't even have a room to myself anymore!" Doug sighed. "Since when?" he asked as he resorted his CDs. "Well since Kerry decided to take an extended leave-of-absense from Jerry. And of course, the little no neck vultures came with her, and Dad decided they could have my room!" "Ok, look. If I agree to this, there will be rules." "I'm listening." "Rule number one: The coaster. Live it, love it, use it at all times." "Done." "Rule number two: The CD collection will stay in alphabetical order - by last name. NOT first! Understand?" "Oh yeah, perfectly. But I don't think I'll be flipping through your diva collection that often." "Oh, I think you would be suprised at how a tortured and passionate female voice can soothe an achy-breaky heart." Pacey didn't answer. Instead, he looked away. Doug noticed this sudden change in behaviour. "Did you tell her?" Pacey still didn't answer. "You told her, didn't you?" Doug asked, concerned for this brother, suprising them both. "She rejected me, Doug!" Pacey yelled, trying to keep the tears which were threatening to fall from falling. "Oh Pacey, I'm sorry," he said compassionately. Pacey knew that the tears were welling up in his eyes now. "Rule number three: no moping around like a love-sick puppy dog."
They were now onto the second mural. The girl who painted it looked like a ditzy-blonde-cheerleader-wannabe. Her mural was no better - a lighthouse? What did that say about the highschool experience? "And I painted this so that we can all remember the beacon of knowledge that our teachers shine on us everyday," she said proudly. "In closing, I would like to thank Principal Green and all of you for this oppourtunity to impart my message of unity." Three was mild applause, but everyone looked as though they were about to throw up. It was now Joey's turn. Principal Green invited Joey to step up and talk about her mural. She stepped up in front of the mural, which was still covered. "Well, Principal Green said the mural should focus on what unifies us as a school. And if you think about it, nothing really unifies us. Even our mascot is divisive. The Minute Man � right there you�ve alienated half the student population. (light laughter) So, the only thing that I could think of that unites us all, that we all have in common, is that... well it�s that we all start off in kindergarten thinking that we can be anything that we want to be, and by the time we get here, we� we�ve somehow lost that feeling. We�ve all started to believe whatever our parents or friends have told us about what we can achieve and what we can be in life, and... and we�ve forgotten about that possibility we had when we were younger. And that�s what I think we all have in common, and that�s what the symbol on my painting means � possibility. I painted it because I thought we could all use a daily reminder that, if you believe in yourself, even when the odds seem stacked against you, anything�s possible. So I hope you like it." Dawson smiled at Joey, but she was smiling at Pacey. A warm, reassuring smile. She nodded at Principal Green, who then pulled the rope to uncover the mural. The curtain fell off, and a gasp was let out by the crowd. There were murmurings among the guests, and Pacey just closed his eyes, feeling so frustrated for Joey. He'd been there, watching every afternoon as she had painted. She'd put so much into it, and it was ruined. Joey starred up at the black paint which was smeared all over her heart and soul. Well, that's how it felt anyway. "Excuse me," she managed to whisper before running out of the building. Pacey pushed his way through the crowd to follow her.
Joey ran out of Capeside High, tears welling up in her eyes. She got down the stairs and began walking hurriedly away. Pacey ran after her a caught up with her after not too long. "Joey, wait up? Please?" Pacey asked. "This is what I get for answering the call to public service - public humiliation," she said angrily. "You weren't humiliated in there, Jo," he said, trying to be supportive. "Oh no? What would you call it then?" she snapped back. "Look, I know that you're angry, and you have every right to be. But you were NOT humiliated!" he insisted. "Explain, Pacey. How was I not humiliated? How can you not call that humiliation?!" "Your mural was beautiful, Jo. So it's a shame that not everyone got to see it. But they saw you up there, so hopeful, so beautiful. They heard your reasons for painting it. And just from that, they knew that whatever you had painted - it was beautiful. They didn't need to see the mural to be proud of you - 'cos I know that they were anyway. Black paint or no black paint." Pacey thought for a moment that he saw her smile. She broke down into tears, and he hugged her and kissed her forehead. She hugged him back and cried into his shirt. He always knew just what to say to make her feel... beautiful.
Andie stood at the bench, preparing a salad for dinner. "So, uh, have you heard any word on Joey?" she asked. "Well, she�s pretty broken up about it," Jack replied. "Yeah, obviously. I mean, who wouldn�t be?" Andie muttered distractedly. "I�ll go catch they guy and you can have the last laugh," Jack suggested. "Huh?" "DC � throw the book at them." "Right. You know what, actually Jack, I�ve been thinking about quitting my position." "Hmm-mm," she nodded. "Andie, you�re like the senior most student representative. I mean, that�s one step below the saviour for mankind � I mean, as far as college admissions are concerned." "I know," Andie replied. But you know what? It�s just been taking up way too much time. And besides that, my school work is starting to slip. And the more I think about it, the more uncomfortable I feel about sitting in judgement of others." Jack starred at her. He knew that this couldn't be the true reason that she was quitting. "What?" Andie asked defensively. "I� I�m just a little shocked," he shrugged. "Why?" "It�s not like you to bail on a commitment." "Come on, Jack. A lot of things aren�t like me, but I�ve done them anyway." "Ok, Andie. You just thought of this right now. Give it some time before you rush out and lose your principal's respect," Jack warned her. "Actually, Jack," Andie said cautiously. "I've been thinking about this for ages." Jack sighed - he couldn't win. But he could compromise. "Three days. If you're still 100% sure about it in three days, resign then." "Ok, Jack," she said. "I guess nothing too bad can happen in three days." Andie walked off, leaving Jack sitting over a plate of grated carrot, wondering what could have suddenly made her want to quit. What was her real reason?
The service bell rang at the Potter B&B. It broke Pacey out of his day dreaming, and back into reality. His shirt was stained with Joey's tears. After her vandalised mural had been put on show, Pacey had taken her back there, and hugged her, telling her that it would be alright. She'd fallen asleep in his arms on the couch. He shook her gently. "Potter. Wake up, Potter," he said, almost whispering. "Ohhhhhh," Joey murmured sleepily. Pacey tried to resist leaning down and kissing her, but it was so tempting. he knew he'd go crazy if he didn't sometime soon, so he ever-so-lightly brushed his lips against hers. He pulled away and looked at her. He was half disappointed and half relieved that she showed no signs of waking up. He slid away from where he'd been lying, and went to serve the customer himself. Joey's lips curled into a smile. Pacey had kissed her... and for some unknown reason - she'd liked it. "Dawson?" Pacey asked, suprised at seeing Dawson there. Dawson was equally suprised. "Pacey?" "What are you doing here?" Pacey asked him. "I - I came 'round to check on Joey," he answered. "Where is she? Is she ok?" "She's just back here," Pacey replied. "And yes, she's fine. You can come look at her if you want, Dawson." "Look at her?" "She's asleep." Pacey lead Dawson behind the counter to where Joey was asleep on the couch. Both guys smiled, a longing look in their eyes. Dawson didn't notice how Pacey gazed dreamily at her, but Pacey definitely noticed how Dawson looked at her. A wave (or more correctly, a tsunami) of jealousy spread all over him, and he couldn't take it. He knew that she'd always be Dawson's girl. But there were times which he could imagine that this wasn't the case. This wasn't one of those times. He hurriedly excused himself to the bathroom. Dawson knelt down beside Joey and brushed her hair out of her face. "Mmmmm..." she murmured in her sleep. She caressed the side of his cheek. He smiled lovingly. She kissed him on the lips and he beamed. Maybe he and Joey had another chance after all. "Oh Joey..." he murmured. "Oh Pacey..." she replied. "Pacey?!?!" Dawson stepped back in shock. He starred at her as he stumbled backwards for a couple of steps, before turning away and bolting out of there as fast as possibly could.
Pacey walked back into the lounge. Obviously, Joey had just woken up. She rubbed her eyes. "Pacey?" Pacey sat down a packet of fish and chips. "At your service, ma'am," he replied. She smiled. "What are you doing here?" "I've been here all day," he replied. "You fell asleep, and, well, someone needed to look after this place." "Did we get any guests?" "A few. One happened to be Dawson Leery." "Oh god. Why'd he come 'round?" "He wanted to see you. But strangely enough he disappearred when I went to the bathroom. Hasn't come back since." "Hmm," Joey shrugged, not in the mood to care. Her stomach rumbled. "God I'm famished!" she exclaimed. "Well what do you think this is?" he asked, holding up the packet of chips proudly. Joey licked her lips. "Give 'em here!" she yelled, diving at the packet in his hands. She tried to wrestle him for them, but when she landed on top of him on the couch, she awkwardly climbed off him, he sat up nervously. They ate in silence, an awful, uncomfortable silence. They both hated it, but were determined to at least pretend to still be friends. But what were they now? Another smile started playing on Joey's lips. Pacey didn't know that she'd felt it. But she had, and she'd REALLY liked it. What she didn't know was that she'd kissed Dawson... then responded as though it were Pacey she had kissed. In her subconsious, it was ok to like Pacey, but not when she was consious. And they both knew exactly why.
Pacey walked up to a couple of guys from his English class in the cafeteria line. He looked down at the piles on muck on their plates. "Well, if it's brown, it must be Tuesday," he commented. "What do you call these things again, Witter?" one of them asked. "Elephant scabs. Packed with whole grain goodness," Pacey asked, then changed the subject completely. "Did you guys see the look on Principal Green�s face?" "Huh?" he other guy asked. "At the unity mural thing," Pacey said. "I thought the guy was going to have a breakdown." "Yeah, that girl Joey, she totally lost it - classic," the first guy said. "Yeah. Look, uh, I�m running myself a little pool here � guess the true culprit, winner takes all. You guys in?" Pacey asked. "How much?" the first guy asked. "It's only a buck a pop," Pacey replied. The first guy handed him a dollar. "Had to be Caulfield." "Yeah, definitely," The other guy said as he passed Pacey another dollar. "What makes you guys so sure?" Pacey asked after taking the money. "Cause there's no other possibility," the first guy answered. "Ok, Caulfield it is," Pacey said, walking away. He spotted Matt walking over to his friends. Pacey walked over and pulled up a chair. "Caulfield," Pacey said. "Do I know you?" he asked. "No, not really - thankfully for me. Look, rumour has it that you have this irrespressible urge to express yourself artistically." "What? That thing yesterday at the mural? That was pretty classic, huh? Too bad I can�t take credit for it," Matt said. "So you didn't do it?" Pacey asked. "I don�t know," Matt said coyly. "I mean, everyone seems to think I did, so maybe I should just do the polite thing and accept the credit and say thank you." "Maybe. But look, I�m here to tell you that not everybody thinks what you did was funny." "Well, some people don�t have a sense of humour. Is that your problem?" Pacey nodded. "Yeah, that�s me. I�m humourless." "Hmm," Matt said, leaning forward seriously. "What do you want?" "I want you to apologise. And then I want you to turn yourself in. And I want you to do it before the day is done," Pacey told him. "And why would I do that?" Matt asked. "Because this time you just happened to mess with somebody I care about," Pacey said.
Pacey stood in the Capeside High parking lot as a really nice, black four- wheel drive pulled into a spot and Matt Caulfield got out. Pacey walked up to him. "That's a nice rig," Pacey commented. "Christmas present," Matt said. "Man, that sucks, huh?" "What's that?" Matt asked. "Oh, your parents shorted you on the off-road package," Pacey answered. Matt started to walk away, unaffected by Pacey - or at least acting like it. Pacey grabbed his arm, not prepared to let Matt think that he won this fight. "Get your hands off me," he demanded. Pacey grabbed his collar and pushed him hard up against the side of his 4WD. "Oh, come on, tough guy," Pacey said, ready to attack at any moment. "What the hell do you want?" Matt asked, scared, but not willing to let it show. Pacey shoved him up against the side of the car again, harder this time. "You know exactly what I want," he said threateningly. "So what's next, Witter?" Matt asked. "You gonna stick your civil servant dad on me? Can't you see, I'm barely shaking in my boots." He shoved Pacey away. "Well you know my name. That's a good starting place." "What I know is that I'm gonna count to three, and your gonna step aside." "Dream another dream, cowboy," Pacey suggested. "That's not how this is gonna shake out." "One," Caulfield began counting. "Two." "Three." Matt tried to push Pacey away, but Pacey grabbed himand pinned him to the car. "What, are you whacked or something?" Matt yelled. "Oh no," Pacey said menacingly. "Not yet. Not by a long shot." "What? You want me to say I did it?" Matt asked. He didn't need a reply. "Ok, I did it. There, you satisfied?" He didn't need an answer to that either. But he got one anyway. "Ok, good. Now what are you gonna do about it?" Pacey asked. Matt didn't answer. "I said what are you gonna do about it!?!?" Pacey screamed as he shoved Matt against the car again. "I'm gonna go apologise, ok?" Matt told him softly. Pacey relented and Matt started to walk away, presumably to apologise to Joey. But he didn't. Instead, he swung around and punched Pacey in the face a couple of times. Pacey threw Matt over the hood of the next car then scrambled after him. Matt managed to punch Pacey a couple of times in the stomach, then got him into a headlock. But Pacey broke it by lifting Matt and throwing him to the ground. He then proceeded to punch Matt in the face repeatedly. By now they had an impressive-sized audience. "HONK! HONK!" a car horn blared. Principal Green climbed out. "Hey! On your feet, both of you!" Green yelled. 'Oh shit,' Pacey muttered to himself as he clambered off Matt. "Inside, now!"
Dawson and Matt Caulfield's friend David arrived in Principal Green's office. They both looked over at their friends, who looked really ashamed. Principal Green stood behind his desk and walked back and forth a couple of times before sitting down and saying, "Now since neither Mr Witter nor Mr Caulfield choose to clarify the meaning of their little title fight in the parking lot, I'm counting on their friends to look out for their best interests. Mr Curran?" "Not a word, Dave," Matt said, looking up. He immediately looked down again, dabbing at his lip with a blood covered tissue. "Mr Leery?" "Don't say anything, Dawson," Pacey pleeded. Principal Green sighed and sat down. He opened his mouth to speak, but Dawson beat him to it. "Oh of course, Pacey. I mean, you'd return the favour, right?" Dawson said, almost mockingly. "What?" Pacey asked. "Yoy know what I mean," Dawson said. Principal Green, Matt and Dave looked on, throughly confused. Pacey was just as confused as they were. "Could we have a moment, please?" Dawson asked. Green looked at him for a moment, then looked over to the others. "Ok, you have three minutes," he said. He then lead Matt and Dave out of the office and shut the door tightly.
Inside the office, Pacey and Dawson sat silently for a few seconds, before Dawson blurted out, "What the hell is up with you and Joey!?" Pacey was shocked. How did he know? Was it that obvious? Had Joey told him? Then again, nothing really was 'up' with them. She'd rejected him. Not completely, but like he'd told her, she hadn't accepted him either. "Dawson... I..." Pacey started but didn't know how to finish his sentence. Pacey could practically see smoke coming from Dawson's ears. 'This is exactly why I shouldn't have told her, Doug,' he thought to himself. "I'd say you were doing a lot more than just looking after the B&B yesterday!" Dawson yelled accusingly. "What's that supposed to mean?" Pacey asked defensively. He was trying to hide the fact that he did have some idea what Dawson was on about - at least he thought he did. "Don't play dumb, Pacey. I know what's going on between you two." "What would that be?" Pacey asked. "Nothing is up with us!" He was becoming more confused by the second. Whatever Dawson thought he knew was wrong, dead wrong. "Don't act clueless! Are you trying to tell me that she kissed me for---" Pacey felt his heart shatter into a million pieces at that moment. "She - she kissed you?" he managed to stammer out. The way he felt was indescribable. Did Joey do this just to hurt him on purpose? Up until then he didn't even know that it was possible to feel such hurt, pain and rejection at once. Did she just want to hurt him as much as possible? "Yeah, what shocked me was the fact that while she was still half asleep, she stroked my cheek, pulled me closer and..." 'Just give me all the details, why don't you?' Pacey thought. 'While you're at it, why don't you go sharpen the knife that you've already plunged into my heart?' "...kissed me, then started moaning for you." "She moaned for me?" Pacey asked. Dawson immitated Joey. "Oh Pacey!" he said in a high pitched voice. His voice lowered, but did not return to normal. The anger and betrayal that he felt was clear from the tone he used to speak his next sentence. "Don't tell me that there's nothing going on! Find someone else to defend you for beating up Matt - I won't ever be defending anything you do again!" he screamed. He slammed his fist down on the table and stormed straight out of there. Straight past a very shocked Principal Green. Pacey let his head drop into his hands. This was not going to look good!
"Ok, Pacey. Would you please tell me what happened in there?" Principal Green asked. "Why did Dawson storm out?" It was more of a demand than a question. "It was because... well, he just said he didn't want to be involved in a fight which didn't concern him," Pacey lied. He didn't want to get into the truth right now. He didn't really understand it himself. Had she really wanted to kiss him? Somehow he doubted it. After her reaction to his confession--- His thoughts were cut off by Principal Green's voice. "Ok, I respect that. So are one of you three going to tell me what the fight was about, or will I have to call upon another friend of yours, Pacey?" There was a moment of silence. They all looked around the room. No one spoke. "Ok, Pacey. Will you tell me now?" "No." "Then who is another good friend of yours?" Should he say Joey? Joey was a good friend - probably his best friend these days, despite everything that had been going recently. But then again, it was Joey's mural. Maybe if he said her and Matt freaked then... he'd made up his mind. "Well, Joey Potter. But I don't think that---" "Don't get her in here!!!" Matt screamed. Principal Green and David eyed the two suspiciously. "Is this by any chance about the mural?" Green asked Matt. Matt and Pacey exchanged looks which showed that they'd been found out. "So... Mr Caulfield. Why'd you do it?"
Jack and Andie sat at the kitchen bench eating alone - just the two of them - just like they did all too often. Andie had just confessed to him. "Say again?" Jack said, suprised. "You heard me. The advance copy of the PSAT that Dawson had - I'm the one who stole it," Andie said softly. "That's how I did so well on the test, Jack. That's how I scored in the ninety-ninth percentile." "That was you?" Jack asked, disbelieving. He sighed. "Oh, Andie..." He sighed again, speechless. "I know, it's quite a suprise," she said. 'You're damn right it's quite a suprise!' Jack thought. But he knew it wouldn't be the best thing to say at that moment. "Well why?" he asked. "You knew that stuff cold - inside and out, backwards and forwards. If anyone was going to ace that test it was gonna be you!" "It was just sitting there on the table like - like this piece of forbidden fruit and... not a chance of getting caught. I don't know. It just seemed like all the answers to my problems at the time," she tried to explain. "What do you mean?" Jack asked. Obviously she hadn't done too well explaining. "I thought that, you know, if I aced the test then everybody would think that I was ok again," she confessed. "You know, that that would somehow convince them. But now that I really am ok, I'm having a hard time living with myself." "So this is why you planned on quitting the Disciplinary Committee?" Andie nodded. "Jack, the past six months I have been walking around feeling like the biggest hypocrite. I mean, don't you see, I've been so hard on all these other people just as a way of punishing myself." She paused. "But now it's time to make amends for that." Jack raised his eyebrows. "Wait a minute. What - what exactly are you planning on doing?" "I'm going to tell Principal Green tomorrow." "No, you're not," Jack told her, worried. If she went through with it, she would be throwing away her entire future. He couldn't let her do it. "Yeah, I am." "No, no. Andie, look. Think about this, ok? You screwed up - fine, ok? It was a moment of weakness, but do you really want to get kicked out of school for something which has the word 'practice' in front of it?" Andie replied sharply. "Jack, you know what I want? I want to be free of this thing once and for all. You know - I want to be free of what I did. And I - I want to be able to go to the mirror and recognise who I am again." "Andie, there's got to be a better way," Jack pleeded. "Jack, I've thought long and hard about this, ok? There is no better way. Not for me."
Pacey sat at the back of the room as Matt's punishment was being discussed. The whole Disciplinary Committee was there - including a very nervous Andie McPhee. She realized that in about two minutes she would be judging her ex-boyfriend - the guy who still meant a lot to her. And she also knew that by the end of the day she could bend down and kiss the kind of life she'd planned for goooooood-bye! "You have consistently flaunted my authority, Mr Caulfield," Principal Green said. "You've undermined my teachers' ability to educate. And now, you challenge my commitment to reshape this school into a community." "Principal Green, it was only a mural," Matt said as a lame attempt to save his ass. "Yes, it was only a mural. But it was so much more than just a mural. You don�t fool me, Mr Caulfield. I know exactly who you are. You�ve been led to believe you�re untouchable, so you disrupt the school, disobey the rules. You serve to divide the student body with your arrogance and your attitude. Now you may be smart, and you may be rich, Mr Caulfield, but you are not above the law. And for that reason, it is my decision that you be expelled from Capeside High," Green said sternly. "Expelled?" Matt asked. He couldn't quite believe this was happening. "You heard me," Green said. "For the rest of the year?" Matt asked. "For the rest of the year." Andie looked over to Pacey and smiled nervously. One student had just been expelled... she was next. But Pacey didn't know this, and she wished him luck. His punishment was up for discussion yet... and she felt like it was wrong for her to judge him, so she sat back and tried her best to blend in with the wallpaper.
And wiped a tear from her eye as she took down a pair of dice - her lucky charm - down from inside her locker. What good would they do? By the end of this hour nothing could be changed - this wasn't about luck. She placed the dice in a box which she held under her left shoulder. She looked at the back of her locker. There was only one thing left in there - a poster for 'Barefoot In The Park'. She pulled it off the wall slowly, then sat it down beside the dice and closed her locker, knowing that at any moment she would break down in tears. She walked away from the school, and she whispered a 'good-bye' to all of her hopes, dreams and any chance she had of a half-way decent future. Sitting in front of the Disciplinary Committee, knowing she had to judge Pacey just made her feel even more guilty, and more determined to confess. She didn't deserve any of what she currently had, and in twenty minutes she wouldn't have it either.
Principal Green sat in his office, reading a typed letter. He finished it, then put the letter down and looked across the desk very seriously. "To say that I am profoundly shocked and disturbed by what you did would be an understatement," he said sternly. "Your behaviour was deceitful, immoral, and ultimately a disgrace to this school." Andie just nodded. "I know. I just wish that I could have told you sooner." "You know I�m going to have to inform the Educational Testing Service, and that they�re going to cancel your scores, and that you�re going to forfeit your chance at a National Merit Scholarship?" Green asked. Andie nodded again. "I'm aware of that, yes." "Now, you say that there were other students who were... aware of this test, but you were the only one who exploited it. Are you absolutely certain about that?" "Absolutely certain," she said. There was no way that she was going to get Pacey in another mess this week, not to mention Dawson, Jack, Jen and Joey. Principal Green stopped being so harsh, and started speaking more kindly. "What do you want me to do here? What am I supposed to do about this, Andie?" Andie was crying by now. "Um, well... I heard that Matt Caulfield was expelled from Capeside today. And what I did was no less grave or serious an offence." "Is that what you think?" Green asked. "I've cleared out my locker, and I know that all actions have consequences," she said. "Andie---" he tried to say, but she interrupted him. "Most of all, I'm sorry for letting you down, and - and for letting myself down." "Andie, you and Matt Caulfield have nothing in common. He is a selfish, spoiled young man, who has no sense of right or wrong. Who actually takes pleasure in hurting others. The only person that you hurt... is yourself." "But I did cheat! And it was wrong and I deserve to be punished for it!" Andie demanded. "When you were on the Disciplinary Committee," Green said. "One of the things that I tried to reach you was the idea of proportionality. Make the punishment fit the crime � yes. But also look at the person. Now Matt Caulfield, he doesn�t deserve, nor would be benefit from, my leniency. But Andie McPhee? She just might." Andie was so overwhelmingly relieved. She could hardly believe it, and made a mental note to pinch herself once she left his office, just to check that she wasn't dreaming. "I don't know what to say?" "Don�t say anything. Get you stuff, put it back in your locker," Green told her. "As for your punishment... I�ll have to think about that for a couple of days." Andie nodded. Through her tears - which were now tears of relief - rather than guilt and fear, she manged to say, "Thank you, Principal Green. Thank you."
Joey walked along Capeside High's hallways towards her desecrated mural. She carried a can of paint in either hand. As she approached, she found Pacey there - already hard at work on her mural. "What on earth?" she asked, smiling. The entire bottom half of her mural was white. Pacey turned to face her. "Hey, Potter," he said cheerfully. "Pacey, what are you doing?" she asked. "Painting," he replied, pointing at his can of paint. "Duh," she said, her smile growing. "I just thought it'd be good if you could start off with a blank canvas," Pacey told her. Sure, he had been talking about the mural, but she knew that he really meant 'them'. Start over. Rewind to before she had 'rejected' him. "Blank canvas, huh?" she asked. "So, uh, how'd the little trial thing go? I see that they haven't kicked you out on your ass - yet." "I'm going to be a mentor," he said, mocking pride. "You!? A mentor!?" she asked. "What? Don't you have faith in me?" he asked, this time he was mocking outrage. She smiled. "Have you heard from Dawson today? 'Cos last time I checked he was in hibernation." Pacey winced when she mentioned him. "Dawson? Uh, well, we kinda... had an argument. More like a fight really." "You two had a fight? Why? I mean, what about?" she asked, although she had some idea what it probably was. Pacey realized that she probably had no idea what she had murmured in her sleep. "You," he replied, looking away. Yep, she had been right. "Me?" "Yup." "What about me? I mean... did you tell Dawson about..." "Nope," Pacey replied. "You did." "What!?" "You told him." "I did not!" "Did too!" "How? I mean, is that what he told you?" "Yeah, well... in a way," Pacey said. "It turns out that while you were half asleep - you kissed him." Pacey looked at her, but refused to meet her eyes. "I WHAT!?" she gasped. "Yep, you did," he said. "But wh... I mean, how does that tell him about---" she was going to say 'us', but she wasn't even sure if there was an 'us'. "Us?" Pacey took the words out of her mouth. "Yeah," Joey said softly. "Well... the thing is... you moaned for me," he said, walking over to her. Smiles spread across both of their faces. "You do realize that I felt that kiss, don't you?" she asked, knowing that he didn't. Pacey felt his cheeks heat up. "Uh, yeah. About that, Jo---" She cut him off by placing one finger on his lips and moving closer. "What do you say we just pick off where we left off," she suggested. "And where would that be?" he asked, although he already knew what her response would be. At least he hoped he did. Her lips brushed ever-so-lightly against his. "About here," she whispered huskily. "But I thought that..." he trailed off, unsure of how to complete his sentence. "Look, I'm sorry about that, Pacey. I know, I reacted wrongly. And I regret it so much. And the moment that you started walking away I felt cold and lonely. I mean, I knew that you weren't really leaving me forever or anything like that, but... well... I just felt that..." "Jo, we don't even know what we'd be walking away from yet," Pacey said softly. "I'd like to know," Joey said. "So would I," Pacey tried to say, but his words were lost when he felt Joey's lips on his. He pulled her closer as the kiss grew more heated. Joey placed one hand around his waist and the other on the back of his neck. Sure, they were in school, but that didn't seem too important right now. Neither did the fact that Principal Green was going to walk down this hallway in about three minutes, just like he did everyday. Or the fact that Dawson was probably sitting at home plotting revenge against them. Ok, so maybe that was a bit of a problem, but they knew that they could deal with it - together. Pacey pressed Joey up against her mural, which was still dripping wet, as he kissed her with as much passion as possible.All of a sudden, 'possibility' took on a whole new meaning.
